ROCK • A • RAMA

ROCK • A • RAMA

This month’s Rock-A-Ramas were written by Jeffrey Morgan, Richard Riegel, Craig Zeller, and Michael Davis.

SHANKAR Song For Everyone (ECM)

This East-West fusion stuff may not be everybody’s cup of curried meat but Song For Everyone has gotta be some sort of a milestone within the genre. I think I can safely say that L. Shankar, one of Ravi’s offspring, is the first Indian 10-string double violinist to record with a drum machine. Having said that, the tunes where he doesn’t use the plug-in thump-thump work the best. He’s got two percussionists, including Zakir Hussain, his old sidekick from Shakti, and their gently-insistent prodding puts a lively edge in the lyricism of token Westerner Jan Garbarek. True, side one’s a tad restrained—this is ECM, not SST, after all—but there are plenty of musical sparks to keep you awake on side two. M.D.

MADONNA Into The Groove (Sire 12" 45)

Say what you want about this shy retiring lass—her hits are usually hot and this sizzler is her best effort ever. Why her record company waited ages after Desperately Seeking Susan came out and then finally released it is beyond anyone. Dig that crazy propulsive passion. “I’m tired of dancin’ here all by myself/ Tonight I wanna dance with someone else.” Not much on paper; on record it’s a cosmic experience. Not available on any album and remember: Happiness is a heated groove.C.Z.

TALKING HEADS Stop Making Sense (Sire)

All right, the whole thing’s live: prime selections from the film of the same name. Great sound quality and, in some cases (“Burning Down The House”), dynamically better than the previously released studio and live versions. But riddle me this: if this is a live album, and live albums are comprised of songs performed in concert (with a beginning, middle, and end—as supposedly evidenced here), then how is it that the cassette version of this LP features extended versions of six of the songs here, as well as a completely remixed version of a seventh? Deception like this not only blurs the distinction of what is and isn’t “live,” it totally destroys it. How many people are going to buy this album, never knowing that they’re listening to edited versions of songs which appear in their full length on the cassette? Take, for instance, the difference between the album and cassette versions of “Once In A Lifetime.” Same as it ever was? Don’t bet on it. Recall that quirky part in the middle of the song when Byrne sings “Water dissolving and water removing/There is water at the bottom of the ocean/Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean/Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean”? This, folks, is what’s known in music terms as a “bridge,” and if you bought the album version of this collection, you can listen until the cows come home and you won’t hear it. Listen carefully, however, and you will hear the splice where it was edited out. The complete song, as performed live, appears only on the cassette. I’m all for selling cassettes as much as the next guy, but fair is fair— and this one-sided pandering is as insidious a marketing move as I’ve seen in a long time, especially seeing as how it involves David Byrne. Did I forget to mention that you get a free booklet regardless of which version you buy? Stop making sense, indeed. J.M.

DARLENE LOVE Darlene Love Live (Rhino)

The woman who thrilled millions on so many magnificent Spector smashes deserves a comeback of Tina Turner proportions—but this isn’t it. Live is essentially a reacquaintance showcase for Darlene and her superb past; the hits are rendered with great affection, never taken for granted and never treated as throwaways. But this woman is ready for new material, with an understanding producer and an excitable band behind her. Lowlight? The unbearably mawkish “Sometimes When We Touch” (she’s a singer, not a miracle worker). Highlight? The way she gleefully sails into “He’s Sure The Boy I Love” and unleashes all the da doo ron ron in her soul. C.Z.

CHINA CRISIS Flaunt The Imperfection (Warner Bros.)

These guys would make neighbors as pleasant as XTC when they first moved onto your street, but after a while you’d hunger for XTC’s quirky hooks and start putting up “For Sale” signs of your own. China Crisis’s records were already so impassively bland that they were included in all the best ulcer diets, but now that they’ve brought in noted mushmeister Walter Becker (of Steely Dan fame: he’s the “other” funny-looking one) to produce, the results are somewhere in the vicinity of Ultravox on Thorazine. Alert all the lite “rock” stations all over the U.S. now, to clear their turntables of Air Supply and slap on some China Crisis. Those yuppie geezers’ll love it. R.R.

JON KLAGES In A Dream (Coyote EP)

Some of you may remember Klages when he was a member of N.Y.C.’s now-defunct Individuals (their one and only LP drew scattered critical applause a few years back). The best moments on this real fine EP leave his previous work in the dust. “Now You’ll Never Know,” a folkish pop-rock stunner that comes on like R.E.M. with clearer enunciation, is ripe for saturation airplay. “Back To The Fun” and “It’s Not Safe” are damn near as memorable. The whole thing’s kind of a fresh kick, as Paul Shaffer would say. Alex Chilton dreams of coming back with stuff this good. (Coyote Records, P.O. Box 112, Uptown Hoboken, NJ 07030.) C.Z.